ALBANY -— In October 2010, Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson promised an in-house examination of the involvement of senators in what had become a tainted bidding process to find a developer for the Aqueduct racino in Queens.

But 28 months later, the work product of the person tasked with doing the probe, Senate lawyer Matthew A. Smalls, cannot be found, according to several current and former Democratic officials linked to the Senate.

Smalls, a $120,000-per-year special counsel, would not discuss the matter and referred inquiries to the Senate press office. Spokesman Michael Murphy said he would have no comment. Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who replaced Sampson as Democratic leader, also referred questions to Murphy.

After a probe, the state Inspector General's Office in 2010 criticized the actions of several Senate Democrats, including Sampson, in the ill-fated selection of Aqueduct Entertainment Group for the Aqueduct racino. Sampson declared that he would "commence an immediate internal review to develop recommendations for better coordinating external communications with advocates and lobbyists."

He added: "I am confident any review will prove I did nothing improper in this process, and I stand ready to fully cooperate with any and all future inquiries."

When asked about the internal review's findings a few days ago, he would not cooperate with the Times Union's inquiry. Through a secretary, he said he would not take any questions.

Then-Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos called for hearings into the AEG bid award, because of concerns about favoritism. Skelos did not schedule hearings when the Republicans regained control of the Senate in 2011 two months after the inspector general's report.

"The Inspector General produced a blistering report on the role the Senate Democrats played in steering this contract to AEG, and had already referred the matter to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for their review," said Scott Reif, a spokesman for Skelos.

A contract with AEG was not consummated because the Division of the Lottery would not authorize the bidders to be Lottery agents. The racino contract was later awarded to Genting, a major Malaysian company.

"We're looking at how to provide library services for the 21st century," said Paul Hicok, the library director.

The library closed its Sycaway Branch in School 18 due to budgetary issues. The branch was shut in response to city voters defeating the 2012 library budget of $1.11 million by a 321-301 vote.

"People in Sycaway weren't happy. A lot of our regular patrons in Sycaway came down here (to the main branch)," Hicok reflected.

"We are fully aware Troy is a city of neighborhoods. Going forward the library board is going to look very carefully at the ways we can connect in the neighborhoods," Hicok said.

The space set aside to house the Sycaway Branch when it opened in 1927 is now used by School 18 as a library. The branch was incorporated into the school when it opened in 1927.

The public library doesn't have plans to return to School 18 at this time. The library's budget situation has stabilized compared to a year ago.

The focus now, Hicok said, is to plan how to use the main branch at 100 Second St. and the Lansingburgh branch at 27 114th St. to meet the changing demands for services. The library board of trustees will be speaking to consultants about how to make the best use of its 19th century buildings that house the two branches.

"There's been a lot of changes in libraries in the last 20 years," Hicok said.

The Troy Public Library sees increased demand for classroom and meeting space. The library also has to deal with wireless connections. And, Hicok said, printed books still are an important component of the library's present and future services.